


Helpless

by psychophoenix



Series: Breathless AU [2]
Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Drama & Romance, Family Drama, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-25
Updated: 2019-10-28
Packaged: 2021-01-05 21:43:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,975
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21215543
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/psychophoenix/pseuds/psychophoenix
Summary: Lay-Kris-Tao Breathless!AU.Yixing, Yifan, and Tao are victims of circumstances brought about by decisions made in the past. How can amends be made to rectify decisions that they had no hand in?





	1. Don't Speak

**Author's Note:**

> "There was nothing I could do. I was rendered helpless."
> 
> Four years after Breathless comes the spin-off that I had been talking about at several points throughout the years. While this can fundamentally function as a stand-alone, there's way more background on the ensemble of characters in Breathless. While that was Kaisoo-centric, this one is going to focus more on the story of Lay, Kris, and Tao. The main ship is Kray/Fanxing/ Krispy Lays (how do people call that ship these days?), and Tao is a family member not a side of a love triangle.
> 
> The story picks up around the same point where Breathless ends (a small scene in chapter 10), and will flashback as it did before resuming the story in the story's present.
> 
> Comments are highly appreciated, let me know your thoughts!
> 
> TW: Minor (non-EXO) character death, mentions of self-harm (refusal to eat)

“Oh my god, is that…” Jongdae gapes.

“Dammit Jongdae, shut your mouth or else we’d be in trouble again,” Baekhyun warns, staring just as intently at the sight before their eyes.

Chanyeol unsuccessfully tries to tug the two away from the glass window of room 408. “Come on you two, I’m sure Dr. Zhang and-“

“Hello, boys.”

“Director Amber!” three voices chorus in mortification.

There’s a dangerous glint in the hospital director’s eyes as she assesses three with raised brows. “What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be at your stations?” She asked.

“I-yes, Director. We were just on our way back from break.” Baekhyun gives a shaky grin as he moves to pull the other two away.

The stern expression on Dr. Liu’s face disappears as she gives them a sly grin. “Very well then, do your best!” she calls out to the rapidly backing away boys.

“Yes, Director!” The three call out with hasty bows as they retreated round the corner.

The door to hospital room 408 opens and Zhang Yixing steps out of it with an unreadable expression on his face. Surprise registers on his features when he realizes who was standing right there in the hallway. “Director Liu, to what do I owe the pleasure?” he asks.

Amber Liu gives a small dismissive wave of her hand. “It’s nothing, Dr. Zhang. I just happened to pass by some kids who need to stop snooping around,” she replies. Her expression becomes somber as she reads the nameplate of the patient confined inside the room. “How is he?” she asks quietly.

Yixing gives a heavy sigh. “He’s doing better since we gave him the dextrose, but he still refuses to physically eat. Any other form of rebellion I can take but this… this is just destructive to himself.”

The door opens behind Yixing and Wu Yifan steps out of it. There’s a hard glint in his eyes when they settle on Yixing’s face, but he gives the cursory bow to address Amber before he wordlessly walks away.

“Should I worry about your and Dr. Yifan’s performance suffering because of this?” Amber asks in a cautious tone.

Yixing shakes his head. “I wouldn’t think so, Director.”

“Very well,” Amber nods once before she bids goodbye to the head of the neurosurgery department.

\--

“We need to talk,” Zhang Yixing says as he knocks on the clinic door of Wu Yifan. There’s no response from the other side of the door which he takes as a yes. He enters and sees the silhouette of Yifan as he looks out of the window of his clinic to the hospital grounds below.

“Kris, I don’t know what to do about Tao.”

Yifan slowly pulls away from the window to look at him. “And what makes you think I do?” he asks quietly.

Yixing gives a shaky sigh. “I- I don’t know. He’s always listened to you and I thought you would have any ideas what to do. I can’t lose him too, Kris. Not after Li Yin…”

At the mention of Yixing’s sister, Yifan’s expression hardens. “I think,” he begins slowly, “That you should think about what Li Yin would want before you come running to me with your questions about how to handle Tao.” There’s bitterness in his tone and he refuses to look at Yixing.

Yixing sighs again, and he blinks away the tears that begin pooling in his eyes. “Maybe I should. Thank you, Kris.”

“Don’t call me that,” was the clipped reply.

There’s a sharp clench in his chest when Yixing hears this and more tears well up in his eyes. “Very well, then. Thank you, Dr. Yifan. And please try not to have any more unexplained absences in the next month, your records are starting to suffer again,” he clears his throat and uses his authority to end the conversation. If he didn’t, he was going to emerge wounded from this simple encounter.

Yifan gives a scoff. “Of course, Yixing-ssi,” he replies flatly. “You and I both know I’m not going to be away from the hospital now that Tao has gotten his ass confined.” There was a purposeful jab at Yixing in his statement and before Kris could provoke another response from him, Yixing leaves with his heart heavier than it was before he had arrived.

\--

Baekhyun cleared his throat to catch the attention of the two people sitting across him at the hospital cafeteria. “Are we going to talk about… you know?”

Chanyeol frowns at his roommate and taps his nose good-naturedly. “Baekhyun-ah, we have so many things to talk about. How are Jongdae and I supposed to know what you’re talking about with just that cryptic opener?” He chuckles.

“I think I know what you’re talking about, though,” Jongdae offers as he carefully rips open the pack of biscuits that he had in front of him. “The one we saw in room you know what.” His mischievous eyes dart up to look at Baekhyun and Chanyeol’s faces. “That’s the one you’re talking about, right?”

“Definitely.”

“What are you,” Chanyeol processes before his eyes widen. “Oh.”

“I think he’s getting it.” Jongdae cackles to the other nurse.

“Oh, that.” Chanyeol finally realizes.

“Yes, that!” Baekhyun and Jongdae nod.

Chanyeol gulps. “We probably shouldn’t talk about that,” he murmurs.

“Why not?” Baekhyun asks in confusion.

“Because,” is Chanyeol’s simple reply.

“Because what?” his roommate prods further.

“OH. Because,” Jongdae’s eyes widen as his gaze lands on something behind Baekhyun.

Baekhyun’s confusion increases. “Because what?” he insists.

“Because that,” is the last thing Chanyeol mutters before he plasters a bright smile on his face. “Doctor Zhang! How are you today?” he asks loudly for the person of interest to hear as he walks towards them.

Baekhyun twists in his seat and beams. His automatic smile drops when he sees the expression on their ward’s head doctor. “Doctor Zhang?”

Zhang Yixing was known to look or actually be absent-minded most of the time, but there was something different about the way he looked lost in thought right now.

A beat too long later, he lifts his eyes to look at them and offers them a small smile of his own. “Hello, Baekhyun, Chanyeol, and Jongdae,” he greets them politely before heading straight for the door.

Jongdae purses his lips in thought while Chanyeol and Baekhyun share a heavy look.

Say what you will about this trio of chaos magnets, but they also deeply cared about their seniors and superiors that they would move heaven and earth or, in Dr. Do’s case, hospital bed and hospital bed to ensure that they were happy. And something was definitely bothering Dr. Zhang.

\--

Wu Yifan bids goodbye to his last patient of the day after asking them to do some more tests before finalizing the date of the surgery that they were going to have. After he locks his clinic door behind the patient, he sighs as he applies pressure to his temples to alleviate the headache that was starting.

Right, a quick trip home to get some necessities before driving back here to watch over Tao, and another full clinic and visitation day tomorrow, he can do this. He begrudgingly recalls Yixing’s parting words to him earlier and knew that he couldn’t afford to mess up his schedule again.

“Please try not to have any more unexplained absences in the next month, your records are starting to suffer again.”

Yifan scoffs again, an echo of his response earlier. With the way that Yixing admonished him, it was as if he wasn’t aware of why Yifan had been missing days off work.

Yifan grimaces in annoyance. Yixing acted like he didn’t know, but of course, he did.

Because it was his fault.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, this is it. The first chapter is up and we're jumping right into it. I do realize that it's quite short, but it's here to help us warm up to the story before the hard-hitting angst comes. What do you think? Let me know in the comments below!!


	2. When We Were Young

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is actually a flashback (hence the tense change) and thus does not directly pick up from the previous chapter. However, it could be read as if either Kris or Lay is thinking back to these events from many years ago. It gives more background to their relationship and sets events in motion that lead to how they are in the "present-day" setting of the first chapter. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pardon me if I didn't post the second chapter as soon as I had anticipated I would. I actually had the bulk of this chapter written since early October but then I got sick and it was a while before I recovered fully and was able to type it up, hence the delay. I'm still continuing with this story, and while it doesn't seem to be as much of a hit as its predecessor was, I still highly appreciate each and every one of you who have subscribed, upvoted, and of course, commented so far. 

Yifan sighed as the door clicked shut behind him. He propped one hand on the wall beside him to steady himself as he removed his shoes to change into his slippers. Adjusting his bag on his shoulder, he called out to the dark apartment, “Lay?”

“In here!” called out the voice of his roommate from one of the bedrooms.

“Can I come in?” Yifan asked as he chucked his bag into the other room – his room, which was right across the one where Yixing’s muffled voice came from.

The door to Yixing’s bedroom opened and its occupant stood there with a sleepy expression. “What kind of question is that?” he quipped. “You know you’re always welcome in my bedroom.”

Yifan chuckled as he pressed a kiss to Yixing’s forehead. “I know, but I figure it’s always best to ask first.”

With a yawn, Yixing ran his hand through his ruffled hair. “And why’s that?”

“Because you’re my boyfriend and I respect your consent.” There was a mischievous glint in Yifan’s eyes, but his words were serious nonetheless.

Despite himself, Yixing blushed. “Oh my god Kris, that’s so cheesy,” he whined with a playful punch to his boyfriend’s shoulder. Kris continued chuckling as he hugged Lay in return. “How was class?” Lay shifted the conversation and yawned again. He stifled a laugh of his own when Kris ended up yawning as well.

“Harrowing,” Kris admitted. “You’re pretty lucky you missed it.”

Yixing frowned. “You know I didn’t want to miss it, though.” He pouted for effect.

“Oh I know, Lay,” Kris responded with a somber tone. “But you have to admit that a chance to be excused from that witch’s class is a precious gift that must be treasured.”

Yixing laughed, but then winced immediately. “You wouldn’t be saying that if you had a migraine as bothersome as this one.”

“Hmmm… that’s true. Longsuffering that class may be, it’s not as agonizing as what you’re feeling.” Yifan nodded, this time seriously considering the tradeoff. “Given that, how are you?”

Yixing grimaced. “The pain reliever has started to kick in, but I still need a full night’s sleep to fully recover.”

“Right, go rest then. I’m just going to reheat some leftovers for dinner and then do some reading for tomorrow’s classes.”

“Can’t you join me in bed? Your presence helps comfort me.” Yixing asked with a hopeful glance. “I know you well Kris, any reading you’re doing is for next week’s classes and not tomorrow’s,” He teased.

Yifan grinned in response. “As you wish, but I’m starving so I promise I’ll join you after I grab dinner. I won’t turn your light on so as not to disturb you so if you hear me crash on your floor do save me the embarrassment. Sounds good?”

Yixing smiled gratefully as he turned to head back to bed. “Sounds perfect.”

\--

A loud and persistent buzzing roused Yifan from his sleep. Grudgingly opening his eyes to identify the source of the offending sound, he saw that it was coming from Lay’s phone that was on top of the bedside table. He moved to stop whatever was causing the phone to vibrate but realized that half o his upper body was under Yixing’s torso which was draped over him.

Yixing grumbled in his sleep as the glare from the still vibrating phone hit his face. “Turn ‘toff,” he mumbled. He slid off Yifan and turned away with another sleepy grumble.

As Yifan once again reached for his boyfriend’s phone, he noted that it was 4 A.M. His hand stilled when he saw the name on the phone screen. “Xing, what’s your sister’s name again?” He asked quietly.

Yixing grumbled in annoyance. “Li Yin,” he hissed out through the sharp pain still ghosting in the back of his head.

“Right, and when was the last time she called you at four in the morning?”

Yixing cracked an eye open and painstakingly raised himself on one arm to face Kris once more. “Wha-?” he mumbled as he blindly reached for his phone from Yifan’s hand. With bleary eyes and a thudding head, he registered that the caller ID was indeed his sister’s before picking the call up. “Li Yin?” he asked, half wondering if he was dreaming. Li Yin never called him, much less at such an hour.

“Yixing…?” came the soft voice from the other end of the line.

“Jiê jie?” Lay replied, the address still very foreign on his tongue.

“Yixing, are you home? Is Baba there?”

“No…” Yixing slipped back into speaking Mandarin. His sister had that effect on him, given that the last time they saw each other was back in the mainland. Beside him, Yifan stared on in wonder. Lay had not talked much about his family to him, just that he had an estranged sister who was away in the US. “I’m in school, I mean, at the apartment.”

“Oh. Oh yes, that’s right. She mentioned you were in medical school.” Li Yin sounded so far away in thought. “Sorry, I wasn’t… I…”

“Li Yin, is everything alright?”

With a heavy sigh, Li Yin answered, “No. I don’t think so, no.” After a pause, she continued, “Yixing, I’m going home,” she added resolutely. 

“To China?”

“No there in Korea, where you are. Where my family is.” 

Yixing was bewildered at the turn of events. When Li Yin left years ago, she had sworn that she wanted nothing to do with their family ever again.

“We’ll be there in a week, Zitao and I. And then we can go on a trip, Baba, your mother, you, Tao, and me.”

The things that were being said did not sound like Li Yin at all, and Yixing was concerned. “Where are you right now, jiê jie?” He began to panic because this was not how his sister acted towards him or any of the other members of their family. To be fair, she had good enough reason not to act all familial with them. This complete turnaround was a sure sign that something wasn’t right. Yifan, sensing Lay’s distress, put a comforting hand in his.

“I’ll explain everything when I get back, okay?” Li Yin whispered before ending the call.

Yixing stared at his phone in stunned silence.

“Lay, are you okay?” Kris’ voice snapped him back to reality.

“I’m not sure,” he murmured. “I need more painkillers for sure because my migraine just came back full force from all that and I still need to process what just happened.”

\--

“What did your sister say?” Yifan asked as he returned into the bedroom with a glass of water and Lay’s painkillers.

Yixing reached for the items gratefully and downed an Ibuprofen. Wincing as he closed his eyes and leaned back on the bed, he replied, “My sister, who has been away from our family for four years called out of the blue to say that she’s coming here. Next week.”

“That’s good news then, isn’t it?”

“She’s estranged herself for a reason, Kris. It’s not like her to plan an impromptu reunion just like that.”

“What, she doesn’t get along with your parents well? She likes independence a little too much?” Kris took the glass of water from Lay’s outstretched hand.

Lay sighed. “My family is a bit complicated, Kris. I don’t want to get into too much detail because it’s a whole lot of drama, but Li Yin and I aren’t really siblings. I mean, we are, but only through our father.”

“Oh, shoot. I didn’t realize, sorry.” Kris gaped as he put the glass on the side table.

“It’s okay, I’m ready to tell you. But honestly, the whole background could wait until this migraine is vanquished into the void because it’s a lot, trust me.” Lay managed a weak grin. “But just so you understand how strange that call was for me, and not just for the obvious reasons, Li Yin estranged herself from our family because of the same reason that I moved here to South Korea with my father and mother: there was already so much controversy surrounding father back in China.”

“You see, I’m an illegitimate child.” Lay continued, as Kris sucked in a breath and sat on the bed to offer a comforting hand on his shoulder. “Or at least I was until father married mother before moving here to Korea to save face.”

“Li Yin is several years older than me, father’s only child with his first wife. She has all the reason to hate us because father’s infidelity to her mother with my mother bore me.”

“You’re just a victim of the circumstances though. It’s not like you were born on purpose to steal her father.”

Yixing gave a small grateful smile as Kris defended him. “I’ve been telling myself that for years, but this is the first time I’m inclined to believe it. Thank you.”

Kris enveloped Lay in a protective hug. “I get now why Li Yin calling you after a long estrangement is confusing, but why now?”

“She was very cryptic about it, and she sounded out of sorts like she had been crying or just very distressed about something. She said she’d tell me everything when she gets here next week, which I suppose I should be getting ready for now?”

“Look, I have to admit that everything is not registering with me right now because it’s 5:30 in the morning and we’ve got class in a few hours. But I’m here. You got me, and we can figure this out together. Whatever’s happening with your sister, we’ll figure it out, okay?” Kris assured Lay once more.

“Okay, let’s go back to sleep for now. My head’s killing me.” Lay sighed as he opted to put the phone call out of his mind first.

“Good call.” Kris smiled as he adjusted his position on the bed to lie beside Yixing. He wrapped his boyfriend in his arms and exhaled in contentment. “Don’t stress about it, Xing. Now rest up.” He mumbled as he drifted off, pressing a gentle kiss to Lay’s cheek as he did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What do you think is up with that phone call? I've hinted to what it leads to quite a few times now, but trust me when I say that this is but the tip of what's to come. In fact, the revelations in this chapter are just the tip of what was, as well. There's so much to uncover in Helpless and it's a bit more drama-heavy a la soap opera and I can't wait to hear your reactions to it. :D Until the next chapter, leave your comments and let me know what you think! 


End file.
